Lahore - Chairman APTMA S M Tanveer has expressed serious concerns over the free fall of textile exports in quantity and value terms during the March 2015 against March 2014.
The overall textile and garments exports are declined by 16.23% in March 2015 caring with the previous year, he added.
He said the exports of cotton yarn has declined 29.36% in value and 12.99% in quantity terms, followed by cotton cloth 14.45% in value and 37.57% in quantity terms, bed wear 16.94% in value and 15.15% in quantity terms, towel 19.03% in value and 23.51% in quantity terms, garments 5.20 in value and 12.57% in quantity terms, synthetic 24.87% and 32.99% in quantity terms and made-ups h 13.62% in value terms. Knitwear is the only product having registered 28.53% growth in quantity terms But it has also decline by 7.41 in value terms. S M Tanveer said the APTMA has been advocating for the restoration of viability of the textile industry by lowering down its cost of doing business by keeping the Pak rupee at its realistic value, by providing uninterrupted energy supply, both electricity and gas to the export-oriented textile industry at regionally competitive rate and by encouraging the industry to take investment initiatives to create exportable surplus. He said the textile mills are closing down their operations one after another. Consequently, he added, around 30% capacity across the textile value chain has duly been closed. Potential investors are reluctant to undertake investment decisions under the prevailing situation.
Furthermore, he said, an unchecked imports and smuggling of textile clothing products are making inroads into the domestic commerce. The industry is unable to sustain in both domestic as well as international markets.
Chairman APTMA said a recent study by an international consultant has observed that Pakistan textile industry has lost comparative advantage to the regional competitors on account of high cost of energy, finance and wages, technology and raw materials disadvantages, system inefficiencies, opportunity cost of funds withheld by the government and zero investment incentives. The loss of market share is also due to the special incentives and market access secured by the government’s of competing countries.
He has stressed upon the government to take cost side as well as market side measures to arrest the declining trend of the textile industry exports. Also, he said, the Prime Minister should constitute a task force of textile associations and chair regular meetings to review exports and investment performance on monthly basis.
